


Nick & Takeo - #38 - Soujourn

by zosimos (trismegistus)



Series: Tobira no Mukou e [9]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-30
Updated: 2010-05-30
Packaged: 2017-10-09 19:19:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/90663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trismegistus/pseuds/zosimos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt #38 of 50</p><p>Takeo learns a hard lesson about his fantasy world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nick & Takeo - #38 - Soujourn

Takeo winced as he touched his forehead tenderly. His fingers came away tacky with blood. The rain beat a hollow sound on the roof over his head, he was sitting alone under the overhang, rainwater pouring over the open sides. The overhang was deep enough that Takeo could sit against the building and not get soaked through to the bone from the water cascading down from the heavens. The water streaming in rivulets down the cobblestone street, on the other hand...

He exhaled, and probed the inside of his mouth with his tongue, fully expecting to find a loose tooth and quietly grateful that everything seemed intact. He rested his elbows on his knees and his head back against the old stone and took several deep breaths.

He had run. He hadn't stood firm or fast but he had turned tail and run before the brigands could hurt him further. The only reason he'd outrun them was pure luck. He'd gotten himself thoroughly lost in the twisting streets and back alleys. The sky had been a dark heavy gray all day but as he'd run from the thugs they had opened up, first spitting errant raindrops in it scorn before opening into a deluge.

Takeo had lost his bag. The thugs had taken it first thing. When he'd refused to give it up they'd beaten him, and when they discovered nothing of value inside he was sure they were going to kill him. Muggers, nothing more or less. He'd idealized this world in his mind and hadn't realized that it was exactly like the world he'd left behind. Filth hiding in the shadows all the same.

He ran his hand through his hair, wincing at the hair that dried stuck in clumps with blood. The cut on his scalp had been pretty bad, but it stopped bleeding now. Takeo remembered from somewhere that head wounds bled a lot, even when they were shallow.

Nick was right. It soured in his mouth because this was Takeo's dream come true, this grand adventure in a land that by all rights should not exist and the entire time Nick had been saying how much he wanted to go home. Now, for the first time Takeo was feeling the same sentiment in his gut. He was lost in a city he didn't know as well as he thought he did, what little bit of money he had taken by muggers and completely alone.

Pedestrian traffic was light, given the rain, but people still went about their business. No one was giving him a second look, halfway down the alley Takeo looked like a half-drowned street rat. The sharp click of heels on the cobblestone made Takeo look up just enough to see the mud-splattered military boots stop near him.

Takeo's bag, just as wet as the rest of him, dropped to the ground on the partially dry stones. Takeo stared at the bag blankly, not comprehending it, and then glanced up.

Nick's hair was plastered to his forehead, sopping wet. There was a streak of blood along the corner of his mouth and a nice bruise turning purple on his face, but he was smiling. Takeo didn't know which thing he was more astonished by, his bag or Nick. Nick wasn't quite wearing the Amestrian military uniform but had obviously commandeered the trousers and the military boots from somewhere. The light colored button-down shirt was nearly translucent with the rainwater, his automail clearly visible and the scarring around his shoulder standing out in stark relief under the shirt. Nick put his hands on his hips and squinted around the rain water making tracks on his face, then looked up at the sliver of grey sky visible between the buildings. "Shitty weather this is," Nick said, wiping his hand over his mouth and smearing the remains of blood across his chin.

Nick looked down at Takeo, an eyebrow raised. Takeo mustered a smile from somewhere. "Yeah," he said dryly. "It really is."


End file.
